I know, I know. Christmas has only just been and gone, so why on Earth am I going on about it this early in the year?
Simply because I want to help you be ready for it early this time round. We all know it is coming. It happens on 25th December every single year. No changes (unlike Easter which is a whole other ball game!). And yet how many of us leave our Christmas cards until the last minute? A LOT!
So , this year I challenge you to make as many cards as the number of the month that you are in at the time. Every month. Okay, so I ought to have told you about this challenge in January, but who can’t make one extra card at some point, right? The idea in short is that in January you make 1 card (month 1 therefore 1 card, okay?). In February you make 2 cards (month 2 so 2 cards required). In March you make 3 cards (month 3… you see?), and so on. All the way through to making 12 cards in December. This way you are not overwhelmed in November and December making tons of cards, but by the end of the year you have at least 78 cards. Which is quite a lot, especially if you had made them all at the same time!
This way you have different ideas and possibly different designs each month (though this is by no means a requirement), you can change your mind about colours, shapes, stamps, everything, and have a nice range of cards to hand out come December. And if in any one month you have a particularly creative patch and make loads of cards, then this should be seen as a bonus, and not a chance to give up in other months (unless you REALLY have to, and you only need 78 cards total), as it will make such a difference later in the year. It is a great feeling to have people compliment you on your handmade creations – they don’t have to know you worked on it a little bit at a time, you can let them carry on believing you did it all in December! It will be our little secret.
I will therefore be sharing a few Christmassy ideas with you over the next 10 months (and beyond) to help get those creative juices flowing. Don’t forget, that unlike many other companies, Stampin’ Up! have Christmas stamps and colours available all year round thanks to the Annual Catalogue so you don’t have to wait to get new toys and inspiration.
Here’s a really simple yet gorgeously effective starter for you, that I received from a friend of mine in Australia for Christmas 2012.
How easy is this?! Don’t forget to leave a comment, or Contact Katie if you are going to take up this challenge. We would sure love to see your creations!
(Footnote to say: I did this challenge a couple of years ago, and it really made a difference in terms of the number of handmade cards I was able to give to friends, family and work colleagues. It felt so nice knowing that they were receiving a personal item that I had spent time on, instead of the same old shop-bought items. Not to mention that I knew there wouldn’t be another card the same in their pile of post!)
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